Fall is typically the time of year when organizations encourage reflecting and planning in the form of performance reviews and goal setting. At ethOs, we also view this time as an opportunity for leaders to set a great example. By demonstrating the value of self-assessing areas for improvement, you can show your team how setting your own goals leads to continual professional development and progress as an individual and for your team’s collective growth.

The importance of setting leadership development goals

Leadership is not a static skill; instead, it requires an ongoing growth mindset to address:

  • new challenges
  • evolving technologies
  • changes in the market
  • shifting team dynamics

Continuous leadership development is essential for those who aspire to lead and established leaders alike.

Development provides emerging leaders with the right tools and confidence for stepping into leadership roles with competence. Likewise, existing leaders benefit through greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and innovation, enabling them to inspire and guide their teams more effectively immediately and over time.

Follow these simple steps for creating new leadership goals and inviting your team to follow your strategic lead.

Revisit your leadership skills

One of the best ways to assess your current leadership efforts is also one that tends to rattle nerves — ask your team.

It might make you uncomfortable not knowing what you’ll hear, but it is an effective way of connecting with those you lead, expressing the value of their feedback, and learning how you can better support their goals.

Before you meet, spend some time reflecting on how the past year of your leadership efforts has gone — the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly.

  • Think through what you would like to repeat and how you might improve next year.
  • What are your strengths as a leader and how can you further enhance them?
  • What are your weaknesses and how will you address those?
  • Consider the ways you inspire, support, and constructively guide your team to be their best.
  • Are you celebrating wins, and conversely, how do you redirect efforts when something doesn’t go well?

Then, meet individually with those you lead to understand what each team member appreciates about your leadership and how you can better support them.

Rather than asking for feedback, consider asking for advice. Initially, they might feel intimidated or nervous to openly share their thoughts; however, if you begin by sharing your self-reflections, you’ll demonstrate that you truly value their insight. While honest feedback can sometimes be hard to hear, focus on listening carefully for the message, consider if there is truth to it, and then show appreciation for the courage it took to share with you.

If you’ve never completed a strengths assessment, I’d recommend doing one. I am partial to the CliftonStrengths assessment from Gallup. If you have taken a strengths assessment in the past, dust off that old login to revisit the results — strengths remain constant over your lifetime. Use this information to think through your current leadership responsibilities and whether there are opportunities for improvement or if you are still happy where you are in your career.

Identifying your leadership goals

Once you’ve done a self-assessment, growth happens more intentionally by identifying the areas of opportunity, which might include better aligning your team efforts with the organization’s strategic plan, seeking out mentorship opportunities as a mentor or mentee, taking on new projects or “stretch” assignments, observing other leaders, or participating in a formal development program. At ethOs, we believe your development can happen every day if you have the right perspective.

Then, set specific goals. While it’s nothing new, using the SMART model is effective. As a refresher, SMART stands for:

  • Specific: Identify specific result(s) you want to achieve.
  • Measurable: To assess progress, it’s helpful to have a number attached to the goal.
  • Attainable: Ensure more likely success by making the goal realistically attainable.
  • Relevant: The goal aligns with your values and vision for the future.
  • Time-bound: Give your goal(s) a beginning and end date.

Sharing and aligning team goals

Once you’ve set your goals as a leader, share them with your team to explain your process and things you’ll be working on over the next year or so. Help pave the way for each team member’s own goal setting by sharing how self-reflection, identifying opportunities, and creating goals with intention is something you value. Plus, sharing goals creates a community of accountability and support for helping each other reach them.

As your team members delve into their own goal-setting processes, consider having them take the strengths assessment and review the results as a team. Remind them that everyone has different strengths, so understanding how incorporating their greatest skills in the right ways makes the team stronger by working together.

Great leaders set the example

It’s cliché for a reason: leading by example is a fantastic way to show your team that continuing to learn and setting goals is healthy, productive, and a great way to promote teamwork.

Is your leadership team looking for inspiration and guidance for their own development? Look no further. Let’s talk!